Of Beginnings, Of the End, and Of Everything in Between
by DarqueDeath4444
Summary: When a long forgotten Celestial Spirit appears before Lucy, bringing with her a story concerning the fate of everything that passed and everything that is to come, she unable to refuse her help. As a chosen one among a few others, she must stand alongside others she had never expected to be on the same side with to prevent the destruction of the world and everything she cares for.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, and welcome to the rewrite of 'Where Darkness Led to the Right Path'. We have prevailed through hours of cringing and wincing and wanting to bury ourselves underground and have finished chapter one.**

 **Yay!**

 **As noted in the author's note of the original of this story, said version will be kept up as a reminder of how (horrible it was)...much we improved over the years. This story will be more mature and (hopefully) more organized and thought out.**

 _ **Chapter ONE**_

"You must reconsider."

"We have gone over this many, _many_ times. I will not."

"We are whole as one. Creation and destruction, birth and death, beginning and end, they are all two sides of the same coin. What is created, is eventually destroyed."

"Destruction follows creation only because something is not perfect enough to remain in existence forever. Then, if the ultimate perfect existence is created, there should be no need to destroy it."

"We have been doing this for generations, lifetimes, since the beginning of time itself. Not once have we managed to create anything close to-"

"No."

"...What?"

" _We_ don't create. _I_ create. You destroy. Perhaps that is where the problem lies."

"What do you mean?"

"I create expecting you to eventually destroy it. Up until now, an ending was expected. Maybe if I create, not with the intention of eventually letting it go, but to keep it forever, the outcome will be different."

"You cannot do that."

"Why not?"

"We were born with rules and a purpose-"

"Exactly. Mine is to create, not destroy. We may have come to as one, but we are ultimately two different beings, capable of acting out our respective roles ourselves. I will create the perfect being. You and your destruction are no longer needed."

"...I cannot simply accept that and turn away. What you are trying to do is _wrong_ , and I cannot allow it."

"Then I guess I will simply have to remove you from the planes of my next creation."

* * *

"You sure Lucy?" Natsu Dragneel asked, for the _n_ th time.

Lucy Heartfilia resisted the urge to roll her eyes and instead smiled up at her pink haired friend. " _Yes,_ " she said. "I'm sure." She then smiled at Lisanna Strauss, who was watching them with an apologetic smile of her own on her face. "You haven't seen each other in years; you should catch up."

Natsu scratched the back of his head, a frown on his face. "I don't see why you can't with us though," he said, and Lucy could hear the whine in his tone.

"I wasn't here when Lisanna was a part of the guild, I won't have much to contribute," she said. "Besides, you two should make up for all the time you've missed without having to worry about me being left out."

Not to mention she was still behind on rent payment because the mission Team Natsu had returned from two days ago had emptied most of her savings after they had paid for damages. Lisanna looked like a reasonable, nice girl, but she had thought Erza was a responsible person too, and the redhead was a third of the damage caused. Really, she was not confident enough in her people judging skills to say much about any of it.

Natsu opened his mouth, no doubt to continue trying to persuade her, but Lisanna finally stepped in. "Natsu, Lucy says it's okay, so you shouldn't bother her so much," she scolds. She then turned towards her. "He's right, though, you really are welcome to join us. Natsu's already told me a lot about you and I'd love to get to know you more." Lisanna hesitated for a second before she looked down at the ground. "I know many years have passed, and I know things have changed. I promise I'm not trying to force things to return the way they were, or…"

Lucy could see the worry in her eyes. "I can't say I understand what you're going through," she told her gently. "But I know it must be hard. We're all here for you, so take your time."

Lisanna returned her smile with one of her own. "Thank you."

From there, it did not take much to convince the youngest Strauss to take the mission with Natsu. Said Dragon Slayer put up more of a fight but caved soon after when the two girls ganged up on him. Finally, the two of them wandered off towards the mission board to presumably pick something out.

A cup of strawberry milkshake was put down on the table in front of her and Lucy looked up to see Mirajane Strauss smiling down at her from the other side of the bar counter. "That was very considerate of you," she said. "It's on the house."

Lucy sighed and gratefully drank a sip. "I feel a little bad because I know they wouldn't mind me being with them," she admitted. "Still, Natsu probably won't notice but Lisanna might feel bad for leaving me out of conversations."

Mira laughed. "Probably," she said. "Thank you, Lucy."

Lucy looked up in time to see Natsu dart out through the guild doors, Lisanna calling his name as she followed.

"Where are Gray and Erza?" Mira asked. "You could go on a job with them?"

Lucy winced. She glanced around, the planted her face onto the table in front of her and sighed. "I'm behind on rent," she muttered. "If I go on a job with Team Natsu right now, I'll really be kicked out."

More laughter filled the air and Mira gently patted her on the shoulder. "Maybe you could take a day off," she suggested sympathetically. "If a job that doesn't involve fighting comes around, I'll hold onto it for you."

"Thanks," Lucy sat up and stretched. "I am a little tired."

Just then, someone called Mira's name and the white-haired mage looked up. "I'll see you," she said, then turned towards the voice.

Lucy waved, then lowered her head onto the table.

* * *

When she finally escaped the world of dreams and angry landladies and homeless nights, the sun was setting. Lucy sat up, wincing at the way her body protested against moving after sitting in such an awkward position for so long. The guild had emptied out and she looked up just as more people were leaving for the night.

Lucy turned towards Mira, who was wiping a glass cup. "I think I'll withdraw for the night," she said.

Mira looked up and smiled. "Okay, I'll see you tomorrow?"

Lucy nodded. "Good night,"

Mira called out a farewell from behind her as she headed towards the door. She waved at the others who bid her goodnight and summoned Plue before slowly making her way home. It was late enough that there weren't many people out and about, and by the time she entered the familiar street where her apartment was located, there was no one in sight.

Or so she thought.

"Are you Lucy Heartfilia?"

Lucy whipped around and stared at the hooded figure standing right behind her. She instinctively took a few steps backward, a hand on her chest.

She hadn't realized there was someone there.

"Are you Lucy Heartfilia?" The question was repeated. The voice clearly belonged to a female and leaned more towards that of a child than that of a grown woman.

Lucy frowned. Fairy Tail was well known, and Lucy herself was easily recognized. People waved to her on the streets, seeming to know her even if she did not know them.

Still, something felt off. She slowly reached towards her key pouch. "I am?"

The girl slowly reached out, as though aware that Lucy herself was preparing to defend herself, and lowered her hood. Suddenly, piercing ice blue eyes were staring out at her from between jet black bangs.

Lucy hesitated before she lowered her hand. "I am," she said again, this time with more confidence. "Who are you?"

"I am Kai, Spirit of Endings," the girl said softly. "I would like to make a contract with you."

Lucy stared at the girl, the spirit, before her. Now that she was focusing, she could sense the familiar, heavy surge of pressure that came with tremendous magic. Not to mention she was most likely keeping herself on the human realm without a contractor, which meant she was here using her own magic, a feat she knew was very difficult.

She had never heard of a Spirit of Endings, but it was clear she was not an ordinary spirit.

Lucy glanced around, noting that her house was only a few feet away. "Would you like to come in?" She asked, a dozen question haunting her mind. "We can discuss terms inside."

Kai blinked, before she nodded. "Thank you."

* * *

 **The name 'Darque' has been changed, because I took a liking to it and it's a little weird to refer to a character as 'Darque' at the same time. The name 'Kai' comes from the Japanese '破壊' 'ha kai', which means 'to destroy'.**

* * *

 _ **Darque: So, it's a little bit on the short side, the original 1k and a bit words we used to write. The first chapter will usually determine how long the chapters are for the rest of the story, so sorry about that but hopefully, that'll mean we can dish out chapters faster...**_

 **Raven: I'm afraid this story will not have any random character bashing. (sorry D: if you liked that) Back when we were first working on the original, it was just sort of the thing to do and it was our first story and...yeah...**

 _ **Darque: If anyone's interested, while we've been dead from the Fairy Tail community, we've been writing A LOT of Naruto works, so if anyone's interested in that, please do check out our other stories. They're also up on Tumblr, under the same username, along with some fanart and other cringe-worthy stuff so...yeah...**_

 **Read and Review~**


	2. Chapter 2

**_Chapter TWO_**

Lucy did not mean to brag, but it was rather common for her to receive spirit visitors looking to make a contract with her. She was well known among them, and sometimes some even paid her a visit to request her help for small matters.

Still, as Kai's footsteps followed her into her house, she had a feeling that this particular visit was not quite normal. Her thoughts were confirmed when, the moment the door closed behind the spirit, Loke appeared beside her in a flash of brilliant gold light.

"Lucy," he greeted. His tone was curt, a stark contrast to his usual slightly flirty ways.

Lucy glanced up at him to see that while he had moved to stand behind her, his eyes were fixed on Kai, who stood almost awkwardly by the door. "A new spirit?" He asked.

Lucy nodded. "She-"

"Kai," said spirit interrupted. "Spirit of Endings."

Loke continued to watch her. "The Bringer of Endings?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

The edge of Kai's mouth twitched, almost as though she were to smile. The movement stopped just short of a smirk, however, and the girl shrugged. "I am known by many names," she replied.

"I thought you did not..." Loke glanced over at Lucy from the corner of his eye. "like recruiting humans."

"I do not," Kai agreed. "But sometimes, our ideals and our realities do not align."

Loke turned to look at the female spirit. Lucy did too. Kai appeared to have become more and more comfortable as they stood talking. "What's going on?" She asked carefully.

Loke placed a hand on her shoulder, a reassuring smile on his face. "Give me a moment." He then turned back to Kai. "I do not appreciate you trying to drag my owner into trouble she does not even know of."

"That is why I was invited in," Kai replied. "To discuss terms. She has every right to decline." She looked thoughtful for a moment. "I thought you did not like the concept of owner and property."

"Lucy is not like the others," Loke said. "She cares for us."

Kai's eyes appeared to cloud for a moment. "Do you think-" she abruptly cut herself off. "No, I am getting off track. Maybe that is why I am here, Leo, before your master and not any other. "

Lucy kept silent, not know what exactly was happening, but sensing something much, much bigger behind the polite back and forth going on between the two spirits.

"You hate human contracts," Loke said. "You-"

"Perhaps," Kai cut him off. "Perhaps things are just that dire. Perhaps I am just that desperate."

"Is it?"

"It is."

Loke and Kai held each other's gazes before finally Loke sighed and closed his eyes. He ran a hand through his hair and stepped back. "Let's hear what she has to say, Lucy," he said.

Lucy nodded slowly. "I planned on it."

Loke smiled and no one said anything else as she led her towards the couch. "Um, water?" She tried to smile, but she was sure it came out just a little wobbly. "I don't have much else, because my team came by and emptied my fridge..."

Kai hesitated, then nodded. "Water will be nice."

Lucy nodded and hurried into the kitchen. As she grabbed three cups and some water, she wondered what was going on. Loke knew the girl, which meant she definitely was a spirit, and probably a rather old one at that. He appeared to have some idea of why exactly she was here too.

Soon, they were once again seated. Loke sat at the table in the chair next to Lucy while Kai sat back down on the couch. The spirit eyed her as she shuffled around to make herself comfortable, and began speaking the moment she stopped.

"Things are dire, and I am desperate," she said. "Lucy Heartfilia, I, Kai, implore you to lend me your aid."

Lucy paused, frowning. "You're going to have to tell what is going on," she said slowly. "And what exactly you want."

Kai nodded. "Of course," she said agreeably. "As I said earlier, I am Kai, the Spirit of Endings. I am known by many titles, however, and one is, as you lion cub said, the Bringer of Endings."

Loke rolled his eyes.

Lucy hummed thoughtfully. "Do you have a counterpart?" She asked. "Endings need something to end, right?"

Kai's lips twitched again. "Indeed," she said. "Sou, the Spirit of Beginnings, the Creator of Beginnings."

"And what exactly do you begin and end?"

This time, Kai smiled. It was small, but one where mirth showed in her eyes. She glanced down at her hands. "What do you think?" She asked softly.

Lucy glanced over at Loke, but the man was staring with Kai, an unreadable expression in his eyes. "The beginning of all beginnings," he said softly. "And the ending of all endings."

Lucy froze. "The world?" She breathed out.

Kai looked up. "If I said yes, would you believe me?"

Lucy laughed uneasily. "Do I have a choice?"

Kai smiled again. "Not really," she said. "You will have to in order for me to move on."

"Say-say I do," Lucy said.

Kai nodded. "Okay. I hope you are comfortable because this gets really long." There was an unreadable expression on her face and a distant look in her eyes. "After all, it is a story spanning over many, many histories."

* * *

"Everything that is created eventually comes to an end. Food rots, things break, and living things die. It is a fixed rule, an inevitable."

"Somewhere along the long history of this cycle, the stories of lives gained magic and gave birth to conscience. Over the years, memories gained gave them knowledge, and the emotions felt taught them empathy."

"It did not take long for them to realize that every cycle of life ended in a similar matter. Humans."

"Inequality led to dissatisfaction. Misery led to conflict. One's happiness meant another's lack of it."

"War destroyed the plane, and the land died with its inhabitants."

"Everything comes to an end, but the humans brought it long before things were ready to end."

"However, all traces of previous misery eventually vanished. Years later, new life sprouted from chance, and the cycle started over."

"The newly gained human thoughts made the consciences understand where the conflict started, but since there were no endings apart from destruction, they did not know how to stop it."

"Even if they did, interfering would be breaking the cycle. So they could only watch as the humans destroyed each other over, and over, and over again."

* * *

The boy, with an unreplicable youth in his face and experience beyond lifetimes in his eyes, paused in his tale. "Are there any questions?"

When no one spoke, he smiled. "We have this knowledge of lifetimes, and yet we cannot interfere. You, humans, taught me that was stupid. People with power should use it for the greater good. I can use this experience to make this world a better place."

Once again, silence met his words.

"But there is a girl, my counterpart, who refuses to change our ways," he paused, gauging the reaction of his audience. They all looked uneasy, but he knew they were good people; he had checked. They wouldn't be able to leave things be, even if they refused direct cooperation. "She is content with simply watching living beings make the same mistake over and over again because they don't know any better. She is trying to stop me, and I cannot let her."

* * *

Long after the humans had gone, Sou flopped down onto the ground and looked up at the night sky. "Save humans?" He sneered. "Hah, they wish."

"This history will be the last of this world," he said, to no one in particular. "Then I will create a world where pain and misery and death do not exist. I've lived alongside living beings for so long; I just have to make sure no seeds of conflict are ever planted."

He sat up and reached towards the moon. "Then there will be no reason whatsoever for you to destroy anything _ever again!"_

* * *

 **Before we get to the AN,**

 **Readers who haven't read the old version of this story, good for you! You've saved yourself from having to spend your entire savings on eye drop.**

 **We've been getting lots of reviews and PMs from readers of the old version, and we're very VERY sorry if we've failed to reply to any of them. We usually reply to questions and the likes, but cannot really get around to thanking every single reader for the reviews they leave, and we're very sorry about that, but this piece holds a special place in our hearts, seeing as it was the first ever large thing we've worked on, and if we failed to reply to your message/you want to leave a message, we'll do our very best to get around through all of them so please do keep them coming!**

* * *

 **Update, my friends!**

 **Raven: Our. _Our_ friends.**

 _ **Darque: Right, sure.**_

 **Raven: Anyways, the cringe continues.**

 _ **Darque: I know right, I hate the past me for being so**_ **rotten cheesecake _at writing._**

 **Raven: Well, you get to see improvement!**

 _ **Darque: I remember you insulted me in the previous AN we wrote at the end of another story, why so nice now?**_

 **Raven: Well, can't be mean all the time.**

 ** _Darque: Riiiight._**

 **Read and Review~**


	3. Chapter 3

**_Chapter THREE_**

Lucy watched Kai wave her hand, and pull out a black key from the smoke that had erupted from her fingertips. "My key," she said, holding it out. "Honestly, it is more for show; I will hear you wherever you are."

Lucy carefully took it, inspecting the delicate engravings marking the black metal. "Okay."

Kai spun on her heels, turning to look at her face to face. She was shorter than her, but her eyes held something Lucy knew did not merely come from lifetimes of experience. "I thank you, Lucy Heartfilia," she said. "You do not know how much this means."

Lucy grinned. "You don't have to thank me," she said, waving a hand. "Saving the world? It's what we do at FairyTail."

Kai smiled. "Sou will come after me sooner or later, and I do not know if he will have one follower or an army."

"Are we going to need help?" Lucy asked.

Kai nodded. "I must be careful with who I tell. Eternal life can be a tempting story, and I need to be able to trust that those I implore help from will not try to kill me to attain a deathless world." She tapped her foot against the floor, and Lucy watched with wide eyes as she began to float. "Rest well, Lucy Heartfilia," she said. "Call upon me whenever you wish, it is the least I can do."

"Thank you, goodnight..."A part of Lucy had been turning around bits and pieces of what she had been told. "Wait! Am I the first?" Lucy asked carefully. "Or are there others?"

Kai paused. "You are the second," she admitted, after a second. "I have already found a first. However, you are my anchor to this world. The first is not a Celestial Mage, after all."

"Who is the first?" Lucy asked. "Do I know them?

Kai nodded. "You do," she said. "I expect he will be arriving within a few days." She smiled. "Though you may be surprised."

Before Lucy could ask who it was, Kai exploded in a burst of black smoke and vanished.

* * *

When Lucy woke up the next day, the first thing she did was check her key pouch, where Kai's black key sat among her others, standing out amidst the shiny golds and silvers.

"It wasn't a dream," she murmured to herself. She didn't know how she felt about that. A part of her worried she hadn't thought things through and had launched herself into a contract with Kai without considering the dangers, but another part of her knew that even if she had given it time, she would have agreed to help anyway.

She got out of bed soon after and slowly changed to spend the rest of the day at the guild. Loke had sat with her until she had fallen asleep, but he was gone when she had woken up. She locked up as she left, summoned Plue, and began her walk.

'I hope you slept well?'

Lucy jumped at the voice, and she spun around to see nothing. She heard a faint laugh.

'Are you in my head?' She asked.

'I am,' Kai confirmed. 'I apologize for scaring you.'

'Oh no, it's okay,' Lucy glanced around. 'How though?'

'You are my anchor now,' Kai said. 'I said I could hear you anywhere.'

Lucy winced. 'Does that mean you can read my thoughts?'

Kai was quiet for a second. 'I will not if you do not want me to.'

'I'd like that.'

There was more silence before Kai's voice resonated through her mind again. 'I can now only hear what you think to me,' she said.

'Thanks,' Lucy noted that she was almost at the guild. 'Is there anything we need to do?' She asked. 'You know, about Sou?'

'I do not know where he is,' Kai explained. 'For now, all we can really do is wait for him to act first. If years of knowing him means anything, he will act soon. I worry he will see no problems with hurting his creations to lure me out.'

Lucy frowned. Soon, the guild building appeared in the distance. She could already hear the racket coming from within, and she noticed that it was almost noon. 'Maybe we could take a job?' She asked. 'It'll let me gauge the extent of your abilities. Loke said you were powerful, are you okay with something involving combat?'

Kai hummed an affirmative. 'This Spirit form limits my powers,' she explained. 'But what I have access to is still more than enough.'

Lucy smiled as she pushed open the guild doors, only to see a table hurling straight at her. She gasped, crouching when black smoke appeared before her. The table turned black mid-air before it exploded into smithereens and faded away in ash.

"Lucy! Are you okay?"

Lucy heard Erza Scarlet calling her name, and she carefully looked up. "Yeah, I'm fine." 'Thank you,' she thought.

'No problem,' Kai replied.

Erza rushed over to her, her armor making sounds as metal hit metal. "Are you sure?" she asked.

"Hey, Luce!" Natsu called. "What was that cloud?"

Lucy smiled at her partner. "Hi Natsu, you're back already?"

Lisanna stuck her head out from amidst the guild members. "We were asked to leave," she complained. "Just as we arrived too."

Her words were met with snickers, and Lucy saw Gray say something to the Dragon Slayer, mockery in his eyes. Natsu scowled back.

Erza finished inspecting her. "You look unhurt," she agreed. "What was that smoke?"

"A new spirit," Lucy said. "I-"

"Hey, Luce! Let's go on a job!" Natsu raised a mission notice, and Gray snatched it from him.

Lucy sighed and shared a look with Erza, who shook her head in exasperation. "We'd better go with them, to make sure nothing goes wrong," the redhead said.

Lucy suddenly remembered how Erza was often one-third of the damage. "Ri-right," she said, trying to smile.

'You are uneasy,' Kai noted. 'Who do I erase?'

'No one!' Lucy exclaimed hastily. 'They-they're friends.'

Kai was quiet for a moment. 'Friends,' she murmured. 'I see.'

"So this spirit just came knocking on your door? And asked for a contract?"

Lucy nodded.

Erza frowned. "You mustn't open your door to everyone," she chastised lightly. "What if it's someone dangerous"

"I didn't open the door for her," Lucy complained. "She-she approached me outside and I invited her in..." She wondered if that sounded any better. "I could tell she was a spirit."

Erza still looked unconvinced, but she nodded. "Very well," she said.

Lucy hoped Kai was not offended.

"Lucy!" Gray walked over to them. "Some bandits are wreaking havoc in some town a day from here."

'This is our job?'

Lucy nodded. "Sure," she said. 'Yes,' she thought. 'Are you okay with that?'

She could picture Kai shrugging. 'Of course.'

* * *

 **So...sorry about the delay? (Ignore mistakes please tyty)**

 _ **Darque: Stuff happened, but we should be back.**_

 **Raven: For now.**

 _ **Darque: Don't be negative.**_

 **Raven: The world is negative, friend O.O**

 _ **Darque: Ignore the saddo. Anyways, yeah, updates should be a tad bit more frequent.**_

 **Raven: The keyword is 'should'.**

 **Read and Review~**


	4. Chapter 4

**_Chapter FOUR_**

The train ride was not too disruptive. Natsu knocked himself out the moment they got on, and with a half of their usual argument starter not present, things went as smoothly as Lucy could have wished.

They slept through the night journey, and arrived at the town the following day. After dropping their bags off at an inn, they immidiately headed out towards the house of their client.

The mayor, a kind looking man, welcomed them into his house the moment they revealed what they were here for, and soon they were seated in a comfortable looking livingroom with cups of tea in their hands.

"Thank you for coming," he said. "As said on the mission poster, this town has recently been having troubles with bandits. They appear to have set upup some base up in the mountains, and the come down to steal. A majority of them seem to be mages, and townsmen who tried to stop them have been injured."

Erza nodded solemly. "We will capture these bandits, so that they may face according punishment."

The mayor smiled gratefully. "Thank you."

Halfway into their climb up the mountain the mayor had pointed out to then, a sudden thought hit Lucy. "Uhh, guys? What was the plan again?"

She received four blank look.

"What are you saying, Lucy?" Happy asked. "We went through this already."

"We did?"

Natsu nodded. "Go in, beat them up, get out."

Three nods followed his decleration and Lucy sighed, mentally threw her arms up in exasperation, then followed her friends anyway when they continued their determined march.

Thankfully, everyone had the sense to stop before they stormed in.

"Ready?" Erza asked.

"Wait." Lucy dug through her key pouch. "I want to summon my new apirit," she said. "Testing combat abilities and all that."

Her teammates watched, suddenly eager, as she pulled out Kai's black key. She held it up, but before she could say anything she felt a presence directly behind her. Kai wrapped her arms around her in a brief hug before she danced nimbly around her to stand in front of her.

"Bandits, get in, beat them up, get out?"

Lucy smiled sheepishly. "Yeah." She tried to gauge the reaction of her friends. "Guys, this is Kai. Kai, these are-"

"Natsu Dragoneel, Gray Fulbuster, Happy, and Erza Scarlet."

Lucy nodded. "My teammates."

"Friends."

"Yeah."

"Do you need these...bandits alive?"

"Yes, no killing."

Natsu frowned. "You're the spirit?" He asked. "I want expecting someone more...more..."

Kai raised an eyebrow, but did not appear particularly offended. "Worry not," she said. "I am capable. I will protect Lucy." She turned around. "Am I to go in?"

"Are you okay by yourself?" She asked.

Kai nodded. "I am more than enough. If it makes you feel better, you may follow me in at your own judgement."

"How do we do that?" Gray asked. "We can't see inside."

"That will not be a problem," Kai said. "Are you ready?"

Lucy nodded uneasilly, still worried, and Kai slowly stepped towards the structure housing the bandits. She raised a hand, placed it against one of the walls, and, before their very eyes, cracks appeared from where her palm was pressed against stone.

It was as though the stone had suddenly gained tens of years of decay in the span of a second.

There was a small pause as the cracks spread to the furthest corners, before the entire things exploded, just as the table had at the guild the day before. The stone parts vanished in black smoke before they even hit the ground, and instantly the shocked cries previously nullified by the walls became audiable.

The grass right beneath Kai's barefeet withered in front of their eyes as she slowly began to walk towards the trembling bandits. One let out a shout and hurled a ball of water at her but the attack stopped meters before her. The transparent shield momentarily flickered a swirling black as the magic simply vanished.

More attacks came the spirits way, but nothing got close enough to even hope to harm her. A wave of black smoke shot out with Kai as the starting point. The half-sphere stopped just after all the bandits had been enveloped, and they all collapsed in a heap. When the thin barrier-like magic dispursed, Lucy could see how the fauna within it all looked half dead and dry.

Kai turned around and curtsied. "Is this to your satisfaction?"

Her teammates were dead silent around her. Lucy had been made aware of Kai's prowess, but she hadn't known what she had been expecting.

By the time they had trecked down, Natsu had recovered enough to loudly complain about how he hadn't gotten the chance to fight at all. He had demanded he fight Kai instead, but the spirit had escaped back to the spirit realm, and Erza and Gray both were very quick to hold him back. There was a certain wary look in their eyes as they watched the spirit vanish in a puff of black smoke and Lucy felt like she understood.

'The fight you will be helping me with is that between the Creator and the Destroyer of Worlds.' Kai's words sounded like a reminder. They cut through her thoughts, and Lucy smiled reassuringly when Erza noticed her jump of surprise. 'I apologize for scaring you.'

'It's okay.' Lucy tried to gather her thoughts. 'What you did, that was already limited power?'

Kai hummed an affirmative. 'I can bring endings to things at touch.'

'Is that what you did with the magic deflection as well?' Lucy frowned. 'Then what did you do to the bandits?'

'That specific form of magic is less effective on beings with a will, but pressure is a very powerful thing. Those humans simply lacked the will power to fight through it.' She felt a faint touch on her cheek, an affectionate gesture, but she knew she would not see anything even if she turned around. 'You, on the other hand, I do not doubt will be able to stand through it.'

Lucy smiled uneasily. 'Thanks.'

Kai hummed again. 'I will retreat for now,' she told her. 'Call me whenever.'

The cloud in her mind vanished with the last traces of the spirit's soft words, and Lucy found herself standing just a little away from the mayor's house. She turned around to see Erza toss the last of the unconscious bandits at the steps leading up to the doors.

"Looks like we will be able to receive the entirety of the pay this time around," the redhead said, proudly, and Lucy wondered if her friend had not only come to expect the damage but accept it as well.

* * *

 **Update, friends!**

 _ **Darque: Sorry about the delay!**_

 **Raven: Next chapter is kind of on the way, ish, maybe, probably, hopefully...**

 _ **Darque: Uni starts soon for me too D:**_

 **Raven: On a side note, we have a discord server** **(** **/bHw6Ddh** **) It's mostly stuff about our Naruto stories, but we'll be having polls and update alerts for all our stories, among other stuff, so if you're interested, please feel free to join us!**

 _ **Darque: What he said :)**_

 **Read and Review~**


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